A delicious family dinner that has layers of ground turkey mixed with seasonings and herbs, carrots, and peas, all topped with creamy mashed potatoes and baked in the oven.
Place the potato chunks into a large pot and add cold water to cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium low and simmer uncovered until the potatoes are fork tender (about 15 minutes).
2 – 2 ½ lbs. Russet potatoes
Drain the potatoes and return to the pan. Smash the potatoes using a hand held mixer or a potato masher. Add the sour cream, butter, milk and salt.
¼ cup sour cream, 5 Tbsp. butter, 2 Tbsp. whole milk or half and half, 1 tsp. Kosher salt, 1 fresh garlic clove
Taste and adjust seasoning. Set the mashed potatoes aside until assembly.
Can also use a store-bought refrigerated mashed potato, not instant potato flakes! Just boost the flavor with sour cream, butter, cream cheese and a garlic clove!
Ground Turkey Filling
For the filling, heat oil in a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet (or oven safe pan) over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
1 Tbsp. Olive oil, 1 small onion (yellow or white), ½ cup celery, ½ cup carrot
Add the ground turkey and garlic, and crumble/cook until browned, about 5 minutes.
3 garlic cloves, 1 pound ground turkey
Stir in the rosemary, ground sage, salt, pepper, onion powder, flour and tomato paste and cook 1 minute.
1 tsp. (heaping) fresh rosemary, ¼ tsp. ground sage, 1 ½ tsp. Kosher salt, ½ tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. onion powder, 2 Tbsp. tomato paste, 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
Deglaze the skillet with the red wine and reduce, about 4-5 minutes .
½ cup red wine
Stir in the beef broth, frozen peas and Worcestershire and bring to a boil. Simmer filling for 2-3 minutes.** If you like your filling a little soupier you can add ¼-1/2 cup beef broth at this point and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
1 ½ cup beef broth, 1 cup frozen peas, 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Assembly & Baking
Dollop the mashed potatoes evenly over the filling in the cast iron skillet. Using a spoon or spatula, spread the potatoes evenly over the filling and all the way to the edges of the skillet.Pro Tip: Make some swoops in the potatoes, the peaks will brown nicely in the oven!
Transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Pro Tip: If using a 10 inch skillet you may want to put a baking sheet or foil under the skillet to catch any drips as it is very full
You can place under the broiler for 5 minutes at the end if you want the top to be golden brown.
Let the Shepherd’s Pie rest for 5 minutes before serving.